Letter about high school graduations

9/14/2017 – The below letter was sent to families at Central and North high schools regarding the 2018 graduations.

September 14, 2017

Dear Parkway Central and North High senior families,

Since the decision to move all Parkway graduation ceremonies to Saturday, May 19, 2018 at the St. Charles Family Arena, Board President Beth Feldman and I have received a number of concerns from the Central and North communities. While most are pleased to be moving to a better facility, many objected to the decision to move the graduations from a weekday to a Saturday, which is the Jewish Sabbath and this year at sundown starts the Jewish observance of Shavuot. We are deeply saddened by the feelings our decision created.

In an effort to correct this error, we contacted the Family Arena and learned that the venue is available for ceremonies on weeknights during the same week. Last night, the Board of Education voted to approve scheduling the North High graduation for Tuesday, May 15 and the Central High graduation for Thursday, May 17. South and West High graduations will remain on Saturday, May 19.

Parkway strives to be inclusive and we are thankful for the thoughtfulness with which so many shared their concerns. Every day, our hearts are guided by a deep desire to respect and value each and every family within our community. We apologize that our initial decision felt otherwise.

Scheduling major activities is challenging, given the diversity of the Parkway community. Our primary goal in making the change to the Family Arena has been to provide a safer and higher quality graduation experience for our students and their families. We believe the Family Arena will be a wonderful venue.